Hey Brother
by TheHardcoreHobbit
Summary: BOFA fic inspired because of the heart wrenching music video "Hey Brother" by Avicii. "Remember when...?"


So...I went to go write a new chapter for my fic _Bleeding Out _and the song Hey Brother by Aviccii (not sure if I'm spelling that right) shuffled up... and then this happened. Sorry for spacing and italics issues (there should really only be gaps in between verses and choruses), having internet problems...

I should warn you, I full on pulled a Dean Winchester single tear while writing this, so I apologize in advance for the somewhat overwhelming feels.

* * *

_Hey brother, there's an endless road to rediscover_  
He could recall so perfectly the moment he and Kili had overheard their Thorin talking about the quest with their mother.  
They'd just gotten back from sparing with Dwalin; he was trying to teaching Kili how to shoot from horseback, while Fili was attempting to improve his mastery with an axe. It was slow going, but they'd asked him for this continued training, so neither could complain.  
It seemed so exciting at the time.  
They waited for their uncle to leave, ambushing him outside, where Dis couldn't interject. He'd denied them at first, but with continued pestering, he agreed. They knew that Thorin had to let them go; they were two of his best fighters after all, and his heirs.  
_Hey_ _sister__ know the water's sweet but blood is thicker_  
He coughed, groaning at the pain that simple action caused. Dust was heavy in his lungs, but he had no way of displacing it from the angle he was lying at.  
Kili shuffled next to him, probably trying to get into a more comfortable position. His head was resting in the crook of Fili's elbow, the hair tickling at his flesh, but he couldn't work up the energy to scratch. Or rather, move in general.  
_Oh, if the sky comes falling down, for you_  
_"_The clouds… seems almost like I could touch them," his younger sibling whispered, blinking slowly up at the blue expanse above them.  
"Remember when we… when we would-" Fili swallowed thickly, trying to wet his dry tongue, "We would… see things in them… sitting under Balin's apple tree."  
"And he would come out, scolding us for taking too long at lunch," Kili gave a low chuckle, his voice strained.

_There's nothing in this world I wouldn't do. _

He could hear the pain in his brother's tone, and it hurt more than his physical wounds.

_Hey brother, do you still believe in one another?_  
"We'll be okay," Kili let out a long breath from his nose.  
"I know."  
"We will."

_Hey sister,__ do you still believe in love I wonder?_  
"Remember… Remember that girl, the one we fought over, before we left? What was her name… Dáska?" the younger kept talking, something Fili was grateful for.  
It meant he was still breathing, he was still alive, and that was all that mattered to the blonde.  
"You can have her. It's alright. I liked her older sister better anyway."  
_If__ the sky comes falling down, for you_  
"Good. 'Cause I did… beat you..."  
"Na," Kili murmured, "Thorin broke it up before either of us won."  
"Don't think so."  
"Yeah, remember? 'Cause Ma left to get him after you broke the chair."  
"That was… you."  
The brunette shifted so that he was staring at his sibling, one eyebrow raised. The muscle twitched with exhaustion, like it was taking too much strength just to hold it in place.  
_There's nothing in this world I wouldn't do._  
"You… tackled me onto it… after I called you-" Fili broke down into a fit of coughing.  
"After you called me an elf," Kili tiredly finished for him, ignoring his brother's deteriorating state, "That still… that still stings you bastard."

W_hat if I'm far from home_?  
He missed the Blue Mountains. Erebor was amazing, it was everything he'd ever dreamed about and more, but it was so unfamiliar. He wished he was surrounded by the home he grew up in, with all of its comfortable coziness.  
He wanted to speak, but he wasn't sure if he'd be able to. His strength was fading fast; he wanted to save it for saying what was really important, just in case. He kept telling himself as he planned out his final words that it was a simple precaution, but deep down he knew he was lying to himself.  
O_h brother I will hear you call_  
"Remember that time I broke my leg hunting? And I was too far in the woods to drag myself back, way too far for anyone to have been able to hear me. I kept shouting for you anyway, even thought I knew I would probably just attract predators," Kili's voice was becoming harder and harder to hear.

_What if I lose it all?_

"You came anyway. Said you could hear me howling like a banshee. Ma thought you were mad, and so did Thorin, at least until you found me. Think that's when they started saying we had a gods given connection…" the brunette smiled wryly, "Ma was strange like that sometimes, wasn't she, with all her superstitions."

Fili could feel his brother's eyes on him, so he nodded his agreement, if only to make the younger feel better. There was a muffled quality to everything, but the blonde pretended like he could understand.  
_Oh sister I will help you out_  
"…we're not going to make it, are we Fee," it wasn't a question.  
_Oh if the sky comes falling down for you_  
"I'm sorry," Fili croaked, "… I don't think… so. I'm… sorry."  
"There's nothing you need to apologize for."  
"I… should have… protected you. That's… my job."  
"It's our job," Kili argued, "to protect each other. And we both failed. It's fine though. We tried out best, fought our hardest_."_  
_There's nothing in this world I wouldn't do_.  
"I'm sorry," he repeated anyway, wishing he could fix it, that he could do something, anything, "I…"

_Hey brother,__ there's an endless road to rediscover_  
Kili heard his brother begin to say it, begin to say the thing that meant he'd given up and there was no hope, so he interrupted, hating how much effort it took him to speak.  
"Fili, really. It… it doesn't even hurt anymore," it was mostly true, his legs were numb; he couldn't move them or feel the previous agony from the spear stuck clean through both of his calves, even if the sword in his gut was still like fire.  
_Hey sister, do you still believe in love_ I wonder?  
"It's… almost peaceful, strangely enough," he could sense his brother's confusion, but he wasn't sure how to explain; he didn't want to waste the breath trying either.  
It was something in the way that the sun warmed his skin, and the way that he could draw comfort from contact with his siblings arm. The air no longer smelled of blood and sweat and death; instead he thought he recognized his mother's fresh pie, or maybe the familiar scent left on his hands after he'd spent the afternoon fletching arrows. And there was grass beneath his fingertips, making a soothing bed for palms blistered from holding a sword he was unaccustomed to for so long.  
_Oh, if the sky comes falling down for you_  
There were a couple moments where he was distracted by an ant crawling over his thumb, until silence burned into him. The sky was gradually darkening, but he couldn't tell if it was because night was falling, or if he losing consciousness.  
"Fili, you still there?"  
_There's nothing in this world_ _I wouldn't do_  
"I… love you," he heard his brother sigh, "didn't say it… enough. Most important person… me. Always be my… little brother."  
"I know," Kili's nostril's flared as he fought back the sting of tears, "I love you too."

_What if__I'm far from home?_  
He couldn't help but notice the clouds were not in his line of vision anymore. The world was tunneling down to nothing but a blur. The brunette clung to the warmth emanating from Fili's skin, using it like an anchor.  
O_h brother I will hear you call_  
"It's okay, Fee. You can let go now. You don't have to stay to try to protect me anymore," Kili mumbled, his lips slowly going as numb as the rest of his body, "I don't think… I'm going to last much longer anyway._"_  
_What If I lose it all?_  
"Kee…" Fili weakly protested, but there was no real fight to the word.  
"It's okay. I promise, it's okay. I'm right here, and I love you and I don't want you to hurt anymore. You can let go. It's okay."  
O_h sister I will help you out_  
The elder let out a shuddering breath that seemed to be in response to his brother's reassurance. A moment later, he stilled. Kili glanced up at his face to see the agony gone, a small smile in its place.  
_If the sky comes falling down, for you_  
"It's okay," he heard himself say, his voice barely audible as darkness swept away his sensations one by one, "it's okay."  
He wasn't sure who he was comforting, but he had a feeling it was himself.  
It was okay.  
The voice sounded suspiciously like Fili had when he'd found Kili in the woods that day so long ago.  
_There_'s_ nothing in this world I wouldn't_ _do. _  
It was all okay.  
He used his last bit of strength to reach up and clasp his brother's hand in his own.  
And then he followed his own advice.  
He let go.


End file.
